15 Dec 2006
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| Energy Security Leadership Council Report Is Wake-Up Call to Building Industry | |
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George W. Bush has proclaimed that we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Such proclamations fall far short of the mark according to a December 2006 report by the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a bipartisan group of top U.S. business executives and senior military officers working to “reduce our dependence on oil and increase domestic and global energy security.”
The Council’s report calls for the halving of America’s oil consumption by 2030 and asks President Bush to implement real, measurable efforts toward energy independence. Escalating climate change demands more urgency from the marketplace, particularly the building industry, whose output consumes 40 percent of the world’s energy. The green technology and products are out there. Now it’s just a matter of changing perceptions. The added costs of building green, typically thought to be 10 to 20 percent more than traditional construction, are actually far less and are continually dropping. More developers and building owners need to realize that what’s good for the environment is also good for business. The big boys such as Wal-Mart, Fedex, and Dow Chemical have caught on. Now contractors and other industry players need to get better at selling green to mine gold. Humanity is quickly running out of time and energy. Below are resources for business culture transformation. Feel free to share any other resources you feel would benefit the SDF community. Clean Edge, Inc. Global Energy Network Institute Greenbiz.com BetterBricks National Environmental Education & Training Foundation Network for Business Innovation & Sustainability World Changing WorldWatch Institute |
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| posted by SDF Editor at 14:36 | comments [2] | trackbacks [1] | |
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| posted by GreenThumb | 21 Dec 2006 at 15:24 |
I don't think the average builder will build 'green' until he doesn't lose money, can sell the home as easily or better, and might even make more profit. Some kind of certification of Official Green Design attached to the home paperwork in some way, which would explain the higher cost to the buyer and future buyers as 'long-run' savings, might make the difference. For the majority of the populace, I think it will always come down to the bottom line no matter how nice the idea is. |
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| posted by GreenyArchy | 25 Jan 2007 at 21:52 |
GreenThumb is correct that there needs to be added motivators. Those motivators will be the continuing escalation costs of materials due to the huge growth in the Asian market. This effects the market directly and the builders feel the pinch. If Green industries focus efforts on alternative materials and assemblies that are based on sustainable materials with a lower escalation trend, then there would be opportunity for new commerce. Similarly transportation costs and energy costs will start going up more again, because the US will have a harder and harder time controlling the price increases for much longer. As those prices increase, so will the costs of shipping materials. The demand will rise for local materials. High energy costs will also drive the demand for efficient systems. Good resources: GreenSpec www.buildinggreen.com , Rocky Mountain Institute http://www.rmi.org , and Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics http://www.arc.cmu.edu/cbpd/index.html . |
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